URN:NBN: i: s -oa63678
DOI: 10.11143/ ennia.63678
Sub le adical mo es in scien i ic publishing
O e he pas 15 yea s, al e na i e paymen models o he dissemina ion o esea ch such as
au ho -pays o au ho ’s unde -pays ha e eme ged […] Elec onic p oduc s, such as ScienceDi ec ,
Scopus and ClinicalKey, a e gene ally sold di ec o cus ome s h ough a dedica ed sales o ce […]
Re e ence and educa ional con en is sold di ec ly o ins i u ions and indi iduals […] We expec
ano he yea o modes unde lying e enue g ow h, wi h unde lying ope a ing p o i g ow h
con inuing o exceed unde lying e enue g ow h. (RELX 2017, 16–17)
The ma ke -d i en academic publishing business seems o ha e go en a s anglehold on schola s.
The dominan publishing houses – known as he ‘Big Fi e’1 – play wi h us as hey please. Thei powe
has g own exponen ially. In he ea ly 90s, hei sha e o social science jou nal a icles was a ound 15%
while now he numbe is close o 70%, as he splendid analysis by La i iè e, Haus ein and Mongeon
(2015) shows. The companies ha e ex emely good p o i ma gins, es ima ed o be gene ally a ound
20–30% (Padula e al. 2017). The la ges o he Big Fi e, wi h e enues o 2,320 million pounds in 2016,
makes no e o o hide wha i s akes in scien i ic publishing.2 In an annual epo , he company
p oudly p esen s i s success as ollows:
Ou la ges ma ke s emained esilien du ing 2016 and we con inued o execu e agains ou
s a egic p io i ies aimed a achie ing mo e p edic able e enues, a highe g ow h p o ile and
imp o ing e u ns. As a esul , g ow h o unde lying e enues g adually imp o ed o 4% and
unde lying adjus ed ope a ing p o i s g ew 6%, as we con inued o g ow e enues ahead o cos s
(RELX 2017, 3).
These p o i s a e la gely gene a ed by he schola ly communi y. We deli e he subs ance o he
p oduc s o he comme cial publishe s, un a majo pa o hei p oduc ion as edi o s, and p o ide
he quali y assu ance o he p ocesses and end p oduc s as pee e iewe s. The publishing houses
would ha e no hing o sell wi hou us, ye we ind ou sel es caugh in his p oduc ion. We submi , edi
and p o ide e iews, hus con ibu ing o he e e -g owing hill, like wo ke -an s. Wha is mo e, we
also pay o he publica ions ha we p oduce wi h hem, no once bu mul iple imes. La ge pa o
ou esea ch is publically unded, which means ha go e nmen s make huge inancial in es men s in
he p oduc ion o academic publica ions. Then subsc ip ions o he jou nals we publish in a e sold o
ou lib a ies, o en wi h long and unnego iable emba gos p o ec ing he con en om being oo easily
accessible. The ea e he pape s a e o e ed o sale o esea ch unde s and ins i u ions, as well as
indi idual esea che s, who wish o make he esul s o hei esea ch accessible soon a e publica ion
h ough wha is called g een and golden open access. In some jou nals his au ho -pays o au ho ’s
unde -pays paymen model, as named by he RELX company, is he p ima y way o ge published.
The ins i u ional, o en na ionally legi ima ed, jou nal anking sys ems s ongly ein o ce his
de elopmen . Respec ed jou nals g ow e e mo e impo an as e e yone seeks o publish in hem o
gain academic me i and acknowledgemen , and concu en ly, o he jou nals become less and less
wo hy as publishing in hem does no equally p omo e schola ly ca ee s. In addi ion o es eem,
ca ee de elopmen is abou b ead and bu e , as so many o us has wi nessed in he pas yea s.
Thus, schola s keep on ca ying s aws o he heap, as he Finnish saying goes.
Bo h young and senio schola s a e a pains wi h he si ua ion. When discussing he opic wi h
colleagues in e en s such as he Annual Mee ing o he Ame ican Associa ion o Geog aphe s (AAG),
you o en end up i s lamen ing he co up sys em bu hen join ly admi ing ha playing along is he
only op ion. “I jus saw you pape published in he jou nal X, cong a ula ions!” is a common g ee ing a
he co ido s, usually e e ing o one o he jou nals published by he Big Fi e. This genuine joy is an
impo an pa o he conduc o conduc ha keeps he wheels olling, o use a Foucauldian exp ession.
Since I s a ed o edi Fennia a yea ago, I ha e become inc easingly awa e o his p oblema ic in
gene al bu also pe sonally. Am I asking colleagues o sac i ice hei ca ee s when in i ing hem o
w i e in he jou nal, especially he young schola s who pe haps bene i he mos om he jou nal’s
open access policy? Do I ac agains my ins i u ion’s aims by publishing in jou nals ha do no ank
© 2017 by he au ho . This open access a icle is licensed unde
a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License.
2FENNIA 195: 1 (2017)Edi o ial
high in he Finnish jou nal assessmen sys em, and how will ha e ec on ou esea ch g oup when
assessed wi h e e ence o his anking? Is he e any c edibili y in my c i ique, as my own wo k can
also be ound in he Big Fi e jou nals whe e I egula ly publish along wi h mos o he geog aphe s?
In my despai , I u ned o Michel de Ce eau, whose wo k has been as ly in luen ial in geog aphy.
In his book A s de Fai e, de Ce eau (1984, xi –x ) desc ibes “a mul i ude o ‘ ac ics’ […] he clandes ine
o ms aken by he dispe sed, ac ical, and makeshi c ea i i y o g oups o indi iduals al eady caugh
in he ne s o ‘discipline’.” How could we mobilise he “ne wo ks o an an idiscipline” by he means o
he weak in academic publishing whe e he gian s ha e so skil ully lea ned o discipline indi idual
schola s, schola ly communi ies, academic ins i u ions, and go e nmen s?
I may be he ullness and ex ensi eness o he p oblem ha icks us in o seeking big answe s and
hus playing he big game wi h e y li le means. Pe haps small s eps should a he be aken o
gene a e new small games ha a e ha de o ule, om ou side and om abo e. Could he adical
publishing e hos eme ge h ough sub le mo es ins ead o solemn mani es a ions? Can we ind ways
o do li le hings ha may g adually change he clima e o academic publishing and possibly, in he
long e m, succeed o change he ules by which his business is un?
Finding space o such ac ical mo es equi es a close look a publica ion p ocesses, and o his
end, le me po ay a ypical ajec o y h ough which a manusc ip is p ocessed in a schola ly jou nal:
1) The manusc ip is submi ed by he au ho (s)
2) The manusc ip is assessed o i and basic quali y by he edi o (s)
3) I seen i , he esponsible edi o s a s o seek o sui able pee e iewe s
4) The manusc ip is sen ou o ex e nal e iew
5) The e iewe s p o ide commen s o he au ho (s) and he edi o (s)
6) A p elimina y decision is made by he edi o (s), based on he e iew epo s
7) The au ho (s) ecei e he decision and, i e isions a e eques ed, decides whe he o no
o e ise he manusc ip along he eques ed lines; in he case o ejec ion, he p ocess
ends in his jou nal
8) The au ho (s) esubmi he e ised manusc ip , some imes including language edi ing,
oge he wi h he esponse le e
9) The e ised e sion o he manusc ip and he esponse le e a e assessed by he edi o (s)
10) The manusc ip is possibly sen ou o ex e nal e iew, o he same o new e iewe s
11) The e iewe s p o ide commen s on he e ised manusc ip
12) A inal decision is ypically made a his poin by he edi o (s), ye a second e ision and
hi d pee e iew ound a e also possible ( epea ing s eps 7–12)
13) The au ho (s) ecei e he decision and, i mino e isions a e eques ed, e ise he
manusc ip ; in he case o ejec ion, he p ocess ends in his jou nal
14) The au ho (s) esubmi he inalised manusc ip , pe haps oge he wi h a esponse le e
15) The manusc ip is accep ed o publica ion by he edi o (s)
16) The accep ed manusc ip is sen o copyedi ing, and possibly language edi ing
17) The au ho (s) ecei e he p oo s o echnical co ec ions
18) The p oo s a e assessed and accep ed by he copyedi o , pe haps equi ing u he
ounds o co ec ions
19) The pape is published online
20) The pape is published in an issue.
E en his minimalis ic desc ip ion shows ha he p ocess o publishing a e e ee jou nal a icle
con ains a signi ican amoun o academic ‘ olun ee wo k’ by au ho s, edi o s, and e iewe s. I also
e eals s ages whe e publica ion p ocesses may leng hen o become complica ed, o a ious easons.
These s eps, no easily con ollable by he publishe , may be he mos oppo une momen s o
in luencing he sys em.
The expe ience I ha e gained in jou nal publishing – as au ho , e iewe , edi o and publishe –
poin s owa ds pee e iewing as a pa icula ly c i ical elemen in he publica ion p ocess. Jou nals a e
elian on ex e nal assessmen , wi hou which hey would be publishing me ely lea ned ex s wi hou
quali y con ol by pee s. This p ac ice elies on a la ge scien i ic communi y wi h schola s eady o
FENNIA 195: 1 (2017) 3Ki si Pauliina Kallio
p o ide hei expe ise o he use o he publishe s wi hou paymen . E en i each commi men o
e iew a manusc ip is ela i ely small, he wo k ends o pile up: us ed schola s wi h up- o-da e
expe ise on ce ain opics a e gene ally eques ed o e iews. As he me i s gained om pee
e iewing a e minimal, he possibili y o in luence he esea ch ield emains he g ea es awa d om
his wo k. Compa ed o au ho s and edi o s, e iewe s hence ha e much less a s ake in an indi idual
publica ion p ocess.
He ein, I sugges , lies one possibili y o adical academic agency. By commi ing delibe a ely o
pee e iewing in al e na i e jou nals, schola ly communi ies could gene a e an asse ha he Big Fi e
and o he comme cial publishe s canno easily conques . This o cou se equi es collabo a ion om
schola s in hei in e changing posi ions as e iewe s, au ho s, edi o s and publishe s, and pe haps
p io i ising al e na i e jou nals o e comme cial ones when commi ing o e iewing o a oid a
g owing wo kload.
Pee e iewing consis s o a numbe o elemen s ha can be enhanced. Publishe s may imp o e
hei policies and p ac ices, o suppo he wo k o e iewe s and ewa d hem o hei wo k in one
way o ano he . Edi o s ha e many oppo uni ies o ensu e a good quali y pee e iew be o e, a e
and du ing he p ocess. F us a ing e iew wo k can be educed by making desk ejec ions and asking
o echnical co ec ions p io o he e iew p ocess; hus, only ca e ully w i en pape s wi h good
po en ial a e sen ou o e iew. Taking an ac i e s ance be ween he e iewe s and he au ho s,
ins ead o jus passing on e iew epo s ha some imes a e pe plexingly con adic o y o unjus o
he manusc ip , wa an s ha he e iews se e he p ocess adequa ely. Some e iews may also be
in i ed o he jou nal as commen a ies o published a icles. Au ho s, on hei behal , can y o make
he bes use o he e iews and espond o hem in a ca e ul manne , including discussion abou he
e iews wi h he edi o s. And wha abou he key ac o s o he p ocess, he e iewe s? As I see i ,
simply p o iding jus i ied commen s in a espec ul manne , e en when you do no like o ag ee wi h
he pape , makes a good e iew epo . This is some imes achie ed be e in an open e iew p ocess
whe e he e iewe and he au ho engage in a dialogue as pe sons wi h names and aces – a
p ocedu e ha jou nals can ac i ely encou age.
Those o us egula ly w i ing, edi ing and e iewing know ha wha I ha e sugges ed abo e
equi es special e o and does no always succeed despi e he good in en ions. Howe e , I belie e
ha his wo k could pay back. I we a e able o gene a e as , good quali y e iew p ocesses by
wo king oge he in al e na i e jou nals, his may lead o publishing ou wo k wi hin mon hs a he
han yea s, openly accessible om day one. Mo eo e , e aining all igh s o published wo k – as
eques ed by he C ea i e Commons and many genuinely open access jou nals – p o ides he
au ho s he op ion o making hei wo k isible and accessible in a numbe o o he enues as well.
The combina ion o e hical open access policy and communi y-d i en pee e iewing could p o ide
one adical opening h ough which o b eak ou sub ly om he comme cial domina ion ha we a e
collec i ely expe iencing.
These hough s a e no mine alone. They ha e de eloped in na ional and in e na ional collabo a ion
wi h colleagues and ins i u ional ac o s, whom I wish o hank o sha ing hese conce ns and aking
some o hese ideas u he wi h me. In Finland, we a e cu en ly seeking new publishing policies,
p ac ices and e hics, i s , in he Ko ila a p ojec led by he Fede a ion o Finnish Lea ned Socie ies
and he Na ional Lib a y and, second, in he Julkea! p ojec b inging oge he h ee scien i ic socie ies
and academic jou nals. In e na ionally, Fennia is engaged in a ne wo k o al e na i e geog aphy
jou nals. We con ened in Ap il a he Bos on AAG con e ence in a panel session in oducing and
deba ing he non-comme cial al e na i es in jou nal publishing in geog aphy. I was o ganized and
chai ed by Simon Ba e bu y who edi s he Jou nal o Poli ical Ecology, wi h panelis s om he jou nals
Human Geog aphy (Dick Pee , John Finn), ACME (Simon Sp inge , Law ence Be g absen ) and Fennia
(mysel ). Ano he panel will ake place in he o hcoming No dic Geog aphe s Mee ing (NGM) in
S ockholm, o ganised by Fennia and in ol ing an in e na ional panel o dis inguished schola s: S ua
Ai ken, Ma ianne Blidon, Sa a F egonese, Jona han Me zge , Ka ha yne Mi chell, Pie e Mounie and
Phil S einbe g. This panel will ocus on he challenges o publishing in he Anglo-cen ed academy, and
welcomes e e yone om he con e ence o pa icipa e in discussions on publishing also mo e b oadly.
Bo h discussions will be published in Fennia’s new publica ion sec ion Re lec ions la e his yea , which
4FENNIA 195: 1 (2017)Edi o ial
we hope will con inue he discussion on academic publishing wi hin and beyond geog aphy. Addi ional
discussion pieces may be sugges ed o he esponsible edi o James Riding, who joined he edi o ial
eam his sp ing.
This issue o Fennia includes ou esea ch a icles, a Re lec ions se ies based on he keyno e lec u e
by Henk an Hou um a he 2016 Annual Mee ing o Finnish Geog aphe s in Joensuu, and one book
e iew. I launches Re lec ions as a new publica ion o ma ha , we hope, will enli en discussions on
opical and c i ical issues in geog aphy and neighbou ing esea ch a eas. I is dedica ed o publishing
sho c i ical e lec ions on any aspec o he discipline o geog aphy, o e ing a space o empi ically
g ounded as well as heo e ically in o med esea ch speaking o con empo a y geog aphic conce ns.
We encou age submissions in al e na i e, uncon en ional o ma s, and pieces ha eme ge om
collabo a ions be ween schola s and c ea i e p ac i ione s o ins ance. Mo eo e , his issue begins
he se ies o Fennia lec u es ha will be o ganised by and published in he jou nal egula ly, wi h
in i ed commen a ies.
In addi ion o he new publica ion o ma s, Fennia has accomplished se e al echnical enewals
du ing he sp ing. We ha e join in he new jou nal managemen and publishing se ice o he
Fede a ion o Finnish Lea ned Socie ies (Jou nal. i). This has mean mo ing o a new websi e ( ennia.
jou nal. i) and aking up he OJS 3 open sou ce so wa e om he Public Knowledge P ojec . On op o
hese majo echnical amendmen s, ou managing edi o Hanna Salo has upda ed he layou o he
publica ion and we ha e e ised ou au ho guidelines. The edi o ial eam hopes ha his all will make
Fennia be e accessible o b oad audiences and smoo hen he publica ion p ocesses be ween
au ho s, e iewe s, and edi o s.
Please enjoy and ci cula e b oadly hese ully open access pieces o wo k, and do no hesi a e o
con ac he edi o s wi h you no el and e en adical publica ion ideas.
KIRSI PAULIINA KALLIO
FENNIA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
NOTES
1 The names o hese publishe s a e pu pose ully no men ioned in his edi o ial.
2 This includes se ices ela ed o “scien i ic, echnical and medical ma ke s by o ganising he
e iew, edi ing and dissemina ing o p ima y esea ch, e e ence and p o essional educa ion
con en , as well as by p o iding a ange o da abase and decision ools”.
REFERENCES
de Ce eau, M. (1984) The p ac ice o e e yday li e. Uni e si y o Cali o nia P ess, Be keley.
La i iè e, V., Haus ein, S. & Mongeon, P. (2015) The oligopoly o academic publishe s in he digi al e a.
PLoS ONE 10(6) e0127502. h ps://doi.o g/10.1371/jou nal.pone.0127502
Padula, D., B embs, B., Ha nad, S., He b, U., Missingham, R., Mo gan, D. & O bal, J. (2017) Democ a izing
academic jou nals: echnology, se ices, and open access. Whi e pape , issued Ma ch 2017. <h ps:// .
co/ jAZNUzDCU 3.5.2017> 03.05.2017
RELX (2017) RELX g oup annual epo 2016. RELX g oup company epo s. RELX G oup. <h p://www. elx.
com/in es o cen e/ epo s%202007/Documen s/2016/ elxg oup_a _2016.pd > 03.05.2017.